While the two sides were engaged in battle, the silver-armored forces held the upper hand, possessing both superior equipment and higher numbers compared to the bandits.

Residing in a mortal kingdom, they had minimal exposure to qi, resulting in people having fewer opportunities to cultivate immortality.

These mortal kingdoms received less importance than cities with more qi but fewer inhabitants.

As a result, most evil cultivators predominantly occupied these kingdoms as places to cultivate their heinous arts.

Observing the nearly suppressed bandits, Su Chen was about to leave when suddenly one of the bandits' bodies began to expand, with black veins emerging from their skin.

Witnessing the bandits attaining the power of the first layer of physical training, Su Chen was somewhat surprised. Although the first layer might seem weak to him, to these silver-armored soldiers, even a novice cultivator posed a life-threatening danger, given their minimum strength of 6000kg.

He noticed that after the bandit transformed, he started roaring like a mindless beast, tearing through surrounding bandits. As he prepared to attack the silver-armored soldier, Su Chen decided to reveal himself.

Below, the Silver Armored captain was breathing heavily, feeling immense pressure at that moment.

He and his team hailed from a border town, tasked by the city lord to track down bandits who had attacked numerous passing traders and travelers, taking both loot and people.

Their escalating actions had infuriated the city lords of surrounding cities. Although dealing with them wouldn't have been challenging with better equipment and greater numbers, the sudden change in the bandit's leader left him terrified.

He was about to command the soldiers to disperse for a chance at life when the speed at which the monster dispatched the bandits left him breathless.

Realizing escape wasn't an option, he resolved to fight and perish alongside this monster.

Just as the monster was about to leap at them, accompanied by the sound of breaking wind, a ball of fire crashed into the monster, engulfing it in blazing flames. Moments later, the monster turned to ashes.

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"Well, can you tell me what's going on here?" Along with the sound, he saw a man descending from the sky. Assessing the man's temperament and the fireball that reduced the monster to ashes, he understood that the person in front of him was an immortal.

"Thank you for saving my life and my team, Sir Immortal. The situation is that..." narrated the captain, explaining why they were chasing the bandits and how the leader turned into a monster.

Contemplating the body of the bandit leader, Su Chen was certain it was the work of an evil cultivator. The power gained by the bandit came at the cost of vitality, and after the berserk state would end, the leader would surely die.

Considering the kidnapped people, he believed most were sent to evil cultivators, given that the bandits left some for their own amusement.

Afterwards, Su Chen asked the silver-armored captain to escort him to their city lord.

"Sir Immortal, we are from the capital, sent here to aid the city lords in suppressing the bandits," explained the captain of the silver guards.

"Why were you dispatched to deal with them, knowing local forces could handle it?" questioned Su Chen.

"Sir Immortal, while murders occurred in the capital, in the kingdom, the frequent disappearance of citizens, especially in this area, led the emperor to order elite silver guards to hunt down all responsible parties."

Listening to this, Su Chen felt this kingdom was truly considered a practice ground by evil cultivators, and the widespread disappearances supported this notion.

Acknowledging this, he requested the leader of the silver guard to provide a detailed map of the kingdom leading towards the capital.

After obtaining the map, Su Chen headed towards the capital.

After a few hours of travel, he reached the vicinity of the capital, surrounded by towering walls. The capital appeared silent and dilapidated, with few pedestrians venturing out. Silver guards constantly patrolled the area.

Approaching the wall, he chose to land on it.

As he appeared, a group of guards surrounded him, brandishing their weapons.

"Step aside, all of you," commanded a voice. The guards parted, allowing a man in dark silver armor and a cape to walk through.

"Chief!" saluted the surrounding guards.

"Return to your positions!"

"But chief-"

"I don't need to repeat myself, understood?"

"Yes, chief."

After the exchange, the guards resumed their positions.

Once they dispersed, the guard chief saluted Su Chen and inquired, "Sir Immortal, who are you?"

"Well, I have come from the Taiyi sect to address the mission your kingdom has assigned to the sect," Su Chen replied, displaying his disciple badge to the chief of guards.

"Now, take me to the person in charge of this case," Su Chen instructed the guard chief.

"Yes, Sir Immortal, please follow me."

With that, the guard chief guided Su Chen towards the royal palace at the center of the capital.

Upon arriving at the front door, the chief informed the golden guards securing the gate of the palace.

"Sir, the royal guards will escort you to meet the person in charge," the chief conveyed.

"Um, you can take your leave."

"Yes, sir."

Having said that, the chief of the silver guard departed.

"Sir, please follow us," instructed the golden-armored guard.

"Um."

Subsequently, they led Su Chen towards the interior of the palace. Observing the surroundings, Su Chen felt a sense of novelty. In both his previous and current lives, he had never set foot in such a luxurious place.

"Who is the person in charge of this matter?"

"Sir Immortal, the individual overseeing this matter is the Minister of Criminal Law."

Following this, the golden guard escorted Su Chen to a lavishly adorned room.

"Sir, you can take some rest; the minister will join you shortly."

Having conveyed this, the guard positioned himself outside the room to stand guard. He also approached nearby maids, instructing them to attend to Su Chen's needs within the confines of the room.